Compensation for delays in the judicial proceedings

Compensation may be paid in civil, petitionary and criminal matters pending in a general court of law. The general courts of law in Finland are the district courts, the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court. The claim for compensation must be filed with the court considering the main issue before the consideration of the matter has ended.

The assessment of whether the judicial proceedings have been delayed is made with regard to the length of the judicial proceedings as well as the nature and extent of the matter, the actions of the authorities and courts during the proceedings and the significance of the matter to the party. Also the legal praxis of the European Court of Human Rights is taken into account.

The amount of the compensation is 1,500 euros for each year during which the judicial proceedings have been delayed for a reason that the State is liable for. Under certain conditions, the amount of the compensation may be raised or reduced. The maximum amount of the compensation is 10,000 euro.

Request for urgent consideration

To speed up the proceedings, a party may request the district court to order urgent consideration of the matter. In the written request, the party must present the circumstances on which the request for urgent consideration is based. A matter may be ordered to be considered urgently in exceptional cases, when there are very important reasons to do so. The decision to order urgent consideration is made with regard to, among other circumstances, the duration of the judicial proceedings so far, the nature of the matter and its significance to the party. In general, the decision is made by the Chief Judge of the District Court. If a request for urgent consideration is accepted, the district court must decide the matter without undue delay before other matters.

Uppdated on 14 March 2013